Saturday, June 14, 2008

I love wind power. It's cheap and it's clean and there is enough wind in the open oceans around this country to more than fulfill our current electricity needs. Historically, birding groups were opposed to wind turbines. As more information is gathered, though, people are finding that the danger to birds isn't nearly as extreme as feared.

I'm trying to put some interviews together on the subject. For now, check out this very interesting graphic of an eider study done on an offshore wind farm in Europe:

See how the ducks' flight patterns shift to avoid the turbines? The early data seems to show that seabird mortality due to turbine strikes will be low with offshore wind. Other factors, such as how to site the turbines to avoid feeding grounds, still need to be looked into.